A small pocket size, manually actuatable adding machine. The machine is circular, of a size to be held in the hand. It is operated by a dial or rotor having ten equally spaced finger holes. It comprises counter wheels overlying each other and stators between the counter wheels. The manual rotor or dial carries a radially movable catch member which can be positioned to engage the periphery of individual counter wheels whereby the rotor can cause any individual wheel to be rotated any predetermined part of a revolution corresponding to a digit to be entered. A unique transfer means comprising stator members between adjacent wheels and a pawl carried by each rotor is provided whereby upon a full revolution of an individual wheel, a step movement is imparted to an adjacent wheel.

1. A calculating device comprising: an assembly of a plurality of counterwheels rotatable about a common axis, said wheels being of progressively varying diameter, said wheels being in a position overlying each other; transfer means between the wheels whereby a predetermined revolution of a wheel imparts a step movement to an adjacent wheel; means for manually feeding numerical inputs selectively to individual wheels comprising a member selectively engageable with the periphery of any one of the wheels; and means for rotating said member about the axis of said wheels to impart predetermined angular rotation to the selected wheel.

2. A device as in claim 1, wherein said member is mounted to be movable radially with respect to the wheels for selective engagement of the individual wheel.

3. A device as in claim 2, wherein said member includes a projection engageable with the peripheral part of individual wheels.

4. A device as in claim 1, including a dial constructed to be manually rotated through selected increments, said member being carried by said dial.

5. A device as in claim 4, wherein said dial comprises a circular member having equally spaced configurations formed in it adapted to be manually engaged for moving the dial through increments of a revolution.

6. A device as in claim 5, wherein said dial is mounted to rotate about the axis of said wheels.

7. A device as in claim 1, including a housing having said wheels therewithin, said last means comprising a dial being mounted in the top of said housing.

8. A device as in claim 1, including stator members positioned between adjacent wheels, each transfer means comprising an element carried by a wheel in a position to be engageable with a part of an adjacent stator, each wheel having extending projections and said element being movable whereby to engage a projection on an adjacent wheel to move the adjacent wheel through one step.

9. A device as in claim 8, wherein said stator member has an extending projection over which said movable element rides whereby to be moved radially into a position to engage a projection on an adjacent wheel to advance it one step.

10. A device as in claim 1, wherein said wheels are configurated to have peripheral parts lying in a common plane, said member being positioned to be movable radially adjacent to peripheral parts of the wheels which lie in a common plane.

11. A device as in claim 3, wherein the individual wheels are cup shaped, said peripheral parts lying in a common plane.

12. A calculating device comprising: an assembly of a plurality of counterwheels rotatable about a common axis; transfer means between the wheels whereby a predetermined complete revolution of a wheel imparts a step movement to an adjacent wheel; and stator means adjacent to the wheels, each transfer means comprising a movable element carried by a wheel in a position to be engageable with a part of the stator means, each wheel having extending projections and each said element being movable whereby to engage a projection on an adjacent wheel to move the adjacent wheel through one step, said stator means having projections positioned to be engaged by a movable element to move the element radially into a position to engage a projection on an adjacent wheel.

13. A device as in claim 12, wherein said element embodies a flexible arm whereby the end of the arm can flex radially.

14. A device as in claim 12, wherein said stator means comprises stator members positioned between adjacent wheels.

Description:

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a pocket sized hand operated calculator, that is, an adding machine. The machine is capable of adding and subtracting.

In the preferred form of the invention as described herein, the device is operated by way of a dial having ten equally spaced finger holes. This dial may be of approximately the size of a telephone dial. However, in the preferred form of the invention, the dial is even smaller. A plurality of rollers and stators are mounted about a common shaft in a cup shaped housing with the dial at the top of it. The machine is operated by dialing the dial clockwise for adding and counterclockwise for subtracting. Numbers from zero to nine are provided in the housing and are readable through the holes in the dial for adding and subtracting. The rotors are cup shaped, having peripheral parts lying in a common plane. These parts are marked with numbers from zero to nine.

The stators are scalloped, each having one extending projection or tooth. Each rotor carries a resilient pawl which rides on the periphery of an adjacent stator to provide detenting and to provide the transfer means whereby a revolution of a rotor causes a step movement of one-tenth revolution of an adjacent rotor. A flexible pawl is moved outwardly by the tooth on the stator so as to engage and pick up a pin on the next rotor to accomplish the transfer.

The dial is operable to rotate any one of the rotors, this being accomplished by way of a radially movable slider having a pawl or catch member which can engage the periphery of any one of the rotors for rotating.

The primary object of the invention is to make available a very small, inexpensive pocket size, hand operable calculator for adding and subtracting.

A corollary object is to make it possible to fabricate such a calculator from inexpensive materials and with easily made parts which are positive in operation and accurate in performing addition and subtraction.

A further object is to provide a calculator of this type embodying rotors and stators mounted about the same center with pawl means carried by each rotor and an inner part thereof cooperable with the stator, whereby transfer is effected, that is, whenever a rotor completes a full revolution, an adjacent rotor is caused to move through one step or one-tenth of a revolution.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further objects and additional advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and annexed drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of the calculator;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the calculator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a partial view similar to FIG. 5, illustrating the action of the transfer means.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the drawings of the exemplary embodiment shown, it comprises a cup shaped housing 10, preferably made of plastic. It may have knobs or buttons at the bottom forming feet designated at 12 and 14. The housing may be about 3 inches in diameter. At the top, it has a peripheral rim 16 of slightly larger diameter and of a depth of a fraction of an inch.

The operating dial is designated at 20. It is in the form of a relatively thin plastic disc having ten equally spaced finger holes as designated at 22 of a size to readily be engagable by a person's finger. The dial fits into the recess at the top of the housing provided by peripheral part 16 of larger diameter.

In the device as shown, there is an integral center post 24 upstanding from the bottom of the housing. This post has one flat side as designated at 26. It has an enlargement or head 30 at the top end. Numeral 32 designates the hub of a member having a disc 34, the edges of which ride on a circular rib 36 of dial 20. Housing 10 has an inwardly extending part 40, the sides of which are curved, which can be seen in FIG. 2 to form finger stops when dialing either clockwise or counterclockwise.

The device has a plurality of rotors, as shown, and a plurality of stators. The stators are mounted on the center shaft or post 24. Each stator has a center opening with one flat side which engages flat side 26 of post 24 so that the stators cannot rotate. The device as shown has four stators and four rotors. The bottom rotor is designated at 46. It has a flat bottom 48 and a circular or cylindrical upstanding part 50, the top edge of which has equally spaced, slightly raised, angular formations as designated at 54, with spaces between these formations, as designated at 56 (see FIG. 4). Each of these formations bears a digit from zero to nine, as may be seen in FIG. 4. The rotor has a center part with a round hole which journals on a stator as will be described. This center part is joined to the peripheral part by three radial legs or spokes as designated at 60, 62, and 64, as may be seen in FIG. 5. Thus, there are three openings in the bottom 48 of rotor 46, one of which is designated at 66 in FIG. 5. In this opening, there is an extending flexible arm 68 lying in the plane of the bottom of the rotor, and carried at the end of this arm is a pawl member 70 of the shape as shown in FIG. 5. It is symmetrical, having inner sides as designated at 72 and 74, which will be referred to again presently.

The bottom stator is designated at 80. Its center hole is designated at 82, having one flat side, as previously described, fitting against the flat side of stem 24 to prevent it from rotating. Its upper part is in the form of a flange 84 of larger diameter. Its bottom part is of smaller diameter as designated at 86. Its intermediate part as designated at 90 is of intermediate diameter, having scalloped edges, that is, having ten equally spaced rises with depressions between the rises for purposes of providing detent action, as will be described. The intermediate part 90 has one extending projection or tooth as designated at 92, whereby the transfer between the rotors is effected, as will be described. Four rotors are shown, the outer one 46 representing units; the next one tens; the next one hundreds; and the next one thousands. More rotors may be provided. The bottom rotor 46 as pointed out is journalled on part 86 of stator 80 of smaller diameter.

The second stator upwardly is designated at 88; since it is identical with stator 80, it need not be described in detail. The second rotor upwardly is designated at 100 and it is like rotor 46, except that at its underside, there are ten equally spaced pins or projections, one of which is designated at 102 in FIG. 5. All of the stators are alike. The hundreds and thousands rotors are like the tens rotor, except that they are smaller in diameter, as shown. Their circular peripheral sides have top edges lying in a plane as shown. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, rotor 46 rotates pawl 70 which rides along the scalloped edges of part 90 of stator 80 to provide detenting such that there are ten equally spaced positive positions of the rotor so that it does not stop in between these positions. When pawl 70 rides over tooth 92, its stem 68 which is flexible is moved outwardly or radially as may be seen in FIG. 6 so that it is moved into position to engage one of the projections 102 so that when rotor 46 completes one revolution, a step of one-tenth of revolution is imparted to the next rotor, that is, rotor 100. Transfer or carryover between all rotors is the same.

Means are provided so that dial 20 can engage any one of the four rotors to rotate it. This means is shown as the radially movable slide member 110. It is in the shape of an elongated oval having an elongated oval opening 112 in it. There are two side members 114 and 116 which engage sides of center post 24. Upstanding from member 110 at one end is a projection or pin member 120 which extends through a radial slot 122 in dial 20, as may be seen in FIG. 1. Projecting member 120 has a part 124 extending downwardly from dial 20 so that it can engage the top of the peripheral edge of any one of the four rotors. This member can engage between the raised portions of the top edges of the rotors, such as portion 54 of rotor 46. Slide member 110 can be slid radially by means of projection 120.

From the foregoing, those skilled in the art will readily understand the operation of the device. The answer when adding or substracting can be read along the zero line of the rotors as seen in FIG. 2. Large numbers from zero through nine are provided on the inner surface of the bottom of housing 10 as may be seen in FIG. 2. Adjacent these numbers are smaller digits or numerals from zero to nine for subtracting when dialing in the opposite direction.

Digits in the units, tens, hundreds, and thousands order can be individually selectively entered into the machine. For entering a digit from zero to nine in the units order, slider 110 is positioned to be engageable with the largest rotor 46. The digit is then entered by dialing disc 20. The entered digit on the periphery of rotor 46 will then appear along the line on which the answer is read, being zero on the line shown in FIG. 2. Any digit can similarly be entered (to be added or subtracted) by positioning slider 110 correspondingly and dialing a digit whereby to rotate that particular rotor. After all digits are entered, the answer is read along the zero line, as indicated in FIG. 2. Subtraction is done similarly, except that the dialing is done in the reverse direction, that is, counterclockwise using the smaller numbers on the inside of the base of the housing which are visible through openings 20.

From the foregoing, those skilled in the art will readily understand the nature and construction of the device and the manner in which it achieves and realizes all of the objectives as set forth in the foregoing. The device is extremely simplified and can be assembled from a minimum number of positive acting parts, which are very easily and readily fabricated, to the end that the device is very easy to assemble and can be produced inexpensively. The transfer means is of a type which is positive in action and long lasting to the end that the device will add and subtract correctly. In addition to the characteristic of its being simplified, inexpensive, and easy to fabricate, its small size makes it possible for it to be carried in the pocket, handbag, or otherwise.

The foregoing disclosure is representative of a preferred form of the invention and is to be interpreted in an illustrative rather than a limiting sense, the invention to be accorded the full scope of the claims appended hereto.